The report outlines the advances that have been made over the last 12 months to control and eliminate diseases which affect 1.4 billion of the world’s poorest people through mortality, morbidity, disability and stigma.

NTDs are a key barrier to attainment of global development goals and poverty reduction.

Jeremy Lefroy MP, Chairman of the APPG, said:

“Ebola has shone a spotlight on the importance of building health systems to address challenges such as insufficient numbers of qualified health workers and inadequate surveillance and information systems equipped to respond rapidly to new and existing health challenges. Neglected Tropical Diseases affect the world’s poorest communities. They must remain a global health priority post-2015.”

The Coalition makes eight recommendations. The report encourages the UK Government to:

maintain its financial commitment to NTD programmes

ensure that the Department for International Development (DFID) disability framework and forthcoming health system framework support a response to NTDs

ensure that DFID supports country governments to equip their health systems to deliver essential NTD interventions

support the full range of research and development for NTDs

promote a cross-sectoral NTD response

promote the partnership model exemplified by the NTD response

continue to champion international investments for NTDs by supporting the inclusion of NTDs in the Sustainable Development Goals

highlight the successes achieved with UK government investment and urge other governments and institutions to contribute more to the fight against NTDs

“In the last five years of this Parliament much progress has been made. Due to the commitment of the government the UK is a world leader in fighting these devastating diseases. But we need to maintain and increase this investment if we are to achieve the international community’s 2020 target of eliminating and controlling these terrible diseases.”

Two years ago, global health leaders convened in London to hold the most significant international meeting on neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) in history. The event galvanized major commitments from a diverse set of partners to eliminate or control 10 NTDs by 2020 – these commitments are now known as the London Declaration.

This Wednesday on April 2nd, The Global Network will once again join this unique group of partners to discuss progress toward the promises made in 2012.

Since the London Declaration on NTDs, The US, UK, and the World Bank have deepened their commitments, and NTDs are now being prioritized in global health and development agendas. In addition, control, prevention and research efforts for NTDs have expanded.

The London declaration also sparked new collaboration between public and private partners. These partnerships are identifying innovative, concrete solutions for delivering good health and strong economic futures to the world’s poorest people.

The progress we’ve seen since 2012 is also due in large part to the work of endemic countries in drafting and implementing national NTD plans. Through their national plans, countries burdened by NTDs are funding and driving their own solutions.

We invite you to tune into a live webcast of the April 2nd event in Paris. You’ll hear from Bill Gates, Co-chair, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Dr. Margaret Chan, Director-General, World Health Organization, along with other distinguished panelists.

Feel free to tweet about the event using the hashtag #NTD progress. The live webcast will run from 12:00 to 1:30 EST. To tune in, click here.

The Belgian Foreign Affairs Committee was delighted on Wednesday, June 26th to receive Dr. Neeraj Mistry, Managing Director of the Global Network. Neeraj was invited by the Committee to present on the global impact of NTDs and the solutions now available to control or eliminate the seven most common NTDs by the end of the decade. The presentation marked Neeraj’s second visit with the Belgian committee, after he and President Kufuor had lunch with the Foreign Affairs Committee members in March during the Global Network’s winter advocacy trip to Belgium and France.

Belgium has already had an important impact on the fight against NTDs. From 1974 through today, Belgium has consistently contributed to the Onchocerciasis Control Programme (OCP) and its successor, the African Programme for Onchocerciasis Control (APOC). The OCP and APOC are credited with restoring 25 million hectares of land previously infested with the black flies that transmit onchocerciasis―enough land to feed 17 million people each year! Belgium is also carrying out a long-term sleeping sickness control program in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, investing in public-private partnerships for NTD R&D, and has highlighted the importance of addressing NTDs in its official global health policy note.

The Global Network is delighted to see the Belgian Foreign Affairs Committee take interest in expanding Belgium’s commitments to NTDs, and hopes that we can continue to work together to see the end of these diseases by 2020.

Panel Members at Food Security Event in Parliament. Photo provided by Partnership for Child Development.

Today, the former president of Ghana and winner of the World Food Prize 2011, H.E John Kufuor, spoke to the U.K. Parliament about how school feeding programs can help millions of people currently living in poverty.

In coordination with PCD and Deworm the World, the Global Network shared information at the event about combining deworming efforts with school feeding programs in order to strengthen agriculture, health and education programs.

Parasitic worm infections often undermine existing school feeding programs by causing malnutrition and anemia even in children who are well-fed. Additionally, school-based deworming programs have been linked to improved school attendance and performance, as well as increased earning potential over the long-term.

At the Global Network we’ve often touted the successes of integrating the work of Ministries of Health and Education. Combining this work with Ministry of Agriculture efforts to create predictable demand for agriculture products will provide a more comprehensive approach to food security that could change the reality of poverty and hunger across the developing world. Now that’s innovation!